Concrete vibrating and finishing machine



June 2, 1970 H. J. AUSTIN 3,515,042

CONCRETE VIBRATING AND FINISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1968 2Sheets-Sheet 1 V4 INVENTOR.

HAROLD J1 AusT/N June 2, 1970 H. J. AUSTIN 3,515,042

CQNCRETE VIBRATING AND FINISHING MACHINE Filed 001;. 14, 1968 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VE N TOR. Hnnow JI/h/sruv 1 ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,515,042 CONCRETE VIBRATING AND FINISHING MACHINE Harold J.Austin, 1360 Acacia Ave., San Bernardino, Calif. 92405 Filed Oct. 14,1968, Ser. No. 767,103 Int. Cl. E01c 19/30 US. Cl. 94--48 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lightweight portable machine forconcurrently compacting freshly poured concrete and smoothing thesurface thereof, which machine includes a vibrating plate pivotallysupported between two elongate rollers in which openings are formed, anda handle extending rear-wardly from the plate for not only moving andguiding the device, but which permits the plate to be placed in a firstconcrete smoothing and compacting position when the machine is movedforwardly, and in a second position where the plate serves the samefunction when it is moved rearwardly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention A machine forconcurrently vibrating a body of fresh- Iy poured concrete and smoothingthe surface thereof as it is moved forwardly and rearwardly thereover.

Description of the prior art Although numerous machines and like deviceshave been devised and used in the past to smooth or finish the surfaceof freshly poured concrete, as well as compact the concrete. Suchequipment have been heavy and cumbersome, and not adapted for use onsmall areas of of concrete such as sidewalks, or the like. The presentinvention overcomes the disadvantages of such prior equipment byproviding a portable, lightweight, manually operable machine that may beused to concurrently vibrate and compact freshly poured concrete, aswell as smooth and finish the surface thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A machine for concurrently vibrating andfinishing the surface of freshly poured concrete, which device includesside pieces that serve to hold two hollow, perforated rollers in fixedlongitudinally spaced relationship. A plate is pivotally supported fromthe side pieces between said rollers, from which plate a handle extendsupwardly and rearwardly to aid in moving and guiding the device. Thehandle is also used to selectively move the plate into either first orsecond positions as the machine is moved forwardly and rearwardly over abody of concrete. Power means are operatively associated with the plateto vibrate the plate and the rollers.

The vibrating rollers serve to force aggregate downwardly into theconcrete, as well as cause air contained in the concrete, together withany excess water, to rise to the surface. Excess water rising to theconcrete surface serves as a lubricant to impart a smooth surface to theconcrete as a portion of the plate when in the first position slidablyengages said surface.

A major object of the present invention is to provide a portable,lightweight, inexpensive machine for concurrently compacting freshlypoured concrete by dispelling entrained air and excess water therefrom,and smoothing the surface of the compacted concrete.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a firstform of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional View of the device, taken on line33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the machine;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the machine in a first position;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the machine in a second position;

FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the device, taken on line77 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an eccentrically loaded pulley forimparting vibrations to a plate when it is in sliding contact with theconcrete; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of a side elevational view of a primemover that drives a second form of eccentrically loaded member to impartvibrations to the concrete.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The concrete vibrating andfinishing machine I is shown in a first form in FIG. 1, and in a secondor modified form I in FIG. 9. The form I of the invention includes firstand second hollow rollers A and A in which spaced perforations oropenings 10 are formed, for reasons that will be explained hereinafter.Rollers A and A are rotatably supported in transverse longitudinallyspaced relationship by two parallel side pieces B.

A plate C is pivotally supported from the side pieces B, and is situatedbetween rollers A and A. An engine D is rigidly supported in a fixedposition relative to plate C, with the engine D in the first form I ofthe machine driving an eccentrically loaded pulley E, and in the secondform of the invention, rotating an eccentrically loaded body E, as shownin FIG. 9.

An elongate handle F is rigidly secured to plate C, projecting upwardlyand rearwardly therefrom. Handle F is not only used in moving airdguiding the machine, but permits plate C to be selectively disposed in afirst position shown in FIG. 5 or a second position illustrated in FIG.6. Stops G shown in FIG. 3 prevent movement of the plate C beyond thefirst and second positions.

When the machine is being moved forwardly, the plate C occupies thefirst position shown in FIG. 5. However, when the device is being movedrearwardly, the plate C occupies the position shown in FIG. 6.

In operation, when the machine is moved across the upper surface offreshly poured concrete I (FIGS. 5 and 6), the plate C is vibrated, asare the rollers A and A. The vibrating rollers A and A force aggregatedownwardly into the concrete and cause entrained air bubbles and excesswater to rise to the surface of the concrete. Obviously, the escape ofsuch air and excess water tends to compact the concrete. The water whichrises to the surface tends to provide a lubricant on the upper surfaceof the concrete J as the plate C slides thereover to impart a smoothfinish to the concrete.

The rollers A and A are structurally identical, and accordingly, onlyone roller need be described herein as to structure. Roller A includestwo circular rigid end pieces 12, in each of which a central opening 14is formed. A cylinder 16 of a perforated sheet material such as expandedmetal, or the like, is provided, that slips over the end pieces 12 andis secured thereto by conventional means.

Pairs of transversely aligned openings 18 are formed in the ends of sidepieces D through which transverse shafts 20 extend. Each shaft 20extends through aligned pairs of the openings 14 and '18 and rotatablysupports one of the rollers A or A thereon. The ends of shafts arethreaded (not shown) which extend outwardly from the side pieces B to beengaged by nuts 22.

Plate C, as may best be seen in FIG. 3, includes forwardly andrearwardly disposed, upwardly curved end portions 24 and 26, as well asside walls 27. The end portions 24 and 26 develop into arcuate guards24a and 26a that are disposed above rollers A and A, and extend at leastpartially thereover.

A platform 28 extends between end portions 24 and 26, which platform issecured to said end portions by bolts 30, or other conventional means.Transversely aligned, upwardly extending portions 32 are provided on thesides of platform 28, and bores are formed therein through which bolts34 extend. Bolts 34 also extend through transversely aligned bores (notshown) formed in side pieces B. The bolts 34 serve to pivotally supportthe platform 28 and plate C from the side pieces B.

Engine D is rigidly secured to a longitudinally extending bracket 35that is afiixed by conventional means to the center upper surface ofplatform 28, as shown in FIG. 1. Two transversely aligned, upwardlyextending arms 36 project from side pieces B that support a cross bar 38therebetween. The cross bar 38 has two upwardly extending, transverselyspaced brackets 40 mounted thereon, which also support a shaft 42therebetween. Shaft 42 rotatably supports the eccentrically loadedmember E in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1.

Member E comprises a pulley 44, and a Weight 46 is affixed thereon in anoff-centered position. A driving pulley 49 on engine D, as may be seenin FIG. 2, is connected by an endless belt with pulley 44. Handle F(FIG. 1) extends upwardly and rearwardly from the first form of themachine I, and when pivoted, permits the plate C to be disposed eitherto the first position shown in FIG. 5 or the second position illustratedin FIG. 6. Handle F permits the first form I of the invention to beguided and moved forwardly and rearwardly over the surface of the bodyof cement I.

When the engine D is actuated, the eccentrically loaded member E isrotated and imparts vibration to the platform 28, which is transmittedfrom the platform to the side pieces B, the rollers A and A, and theplate C. Vibration of the rollers A and A results in forcing theaggregate contained in the concrete body I downwardly therein, and atthe same time causes entrained air in the concrete to rise upwardly toescape therefrom. Also, due to vibration of the body of concrete J, anyexcess water contained therein is caused to pass upwardly to the uppersurface thereof.

When the first form of the invention I is moved forwardly over a body ofconcrete J, the handle F is used to pivot plate C into the firstposition shown in FIG. 5 where the rear portion of the plate is insliding contact with the upper surface of the body of concrete. Excesswater that rises to the surface of the concrete body I serves as alubricant to impart a smooth finish thereto as the concrete is slidablyengaged by the plate C.

When the first form of the machine I is moved rearwardly, the handle Fis used to pivot the plate C into the second position shown in FIG. 6when the forward part of the plate is in sliding contact with the uppersurface of the body of concrete I. The action of the first form of theinvention I when moved rearwardly is the same as when moved forwardly.

Stop G shown in FIG. 3, includes a vertical, upwardly extending pin 50afiixed to plat form 28. One of the side pieces B is provided with ahorizontal, inwardly extending lug 52 in which a vertical bore 54 isformed. Pin 50 is vertically movable in bore 54. First and secondlongitudinally spaced washers 56 and 58 are secured to pin 50 anddisposed on opposite sides of lug 52. When first washer 56 is in contactwith lug 52, as shown in FIG. 3, the plate C is disposed in a firstposition. Likewise, when the second washer 58 contacts the lug 52, theplate C is disposed in a second position as illustrated in FIG. 7.

The second form I of the invention is the same as the first form I,except that the arms 36, cross bar 38, and the pulley assembly shown inFIG. 8 is eliminated therefrom. Also, in the second form I, the engine Dis mounted directly on the platform 28 by conventional means, with thepulley being replaced by an off-centered, relatively heavy rotatablebody 60, as shown in FIG. 9. R0- tation of body 60 results in vibrationbeing imparted to plate C, and rollers A and A in the same manner as inthe first form of the device.

Both the first and second forms I and I operate in the same manner andproduce the same results. Guards 24a and 26a prevent particles ofconcrete from being thrown onto platform 28 and engine D duringoperation of the machine.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is simply illustrative. Also, since the scope of theinvention is defined by the appended claims, all changes falling withinthe metes and bounds of the claims, or that provide their functional aswell as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to beembraced by these claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for use in concurrently compacting a body of freshly pouredconcrete and finishing the upper surface thereof, including:

(a) two laterally spaced, parallel side pieces;

(b) first and second rollers extending transversely between the ends ofsaid side pieces and rotatably supported therefrom, in which rollers aplurality of spaced openings are formed;

(0) a transverse plate disposed between said first and second rollersand pivotally supported from said side pieces in an elevated positionabove said upper surface, with said plate having transverse upwardly andrearwardly extending edge portions;

((1) power means for vibrating said plate; and

(e) an elongate upwardly and rearwardly extending handle rigidly securedto said plate for selectively moving said machine forwardly andrearwardly over said body of concrete, which handle is used to pivotsaid plate into a first position where a first portion thereof adjacentsaid rear edge contacts and vibrates said body of concrete as saidmachine moves forwardly thereover, and with said handle being used topivot said plate into a second position where a second portion thereofadjacent said forward edge contacts and vibrates said body of concreteas said machine is moved rearwardly thereover, with said rollers forcingaggregate contained in said body of concrete downwardly therein as saidmachine rolls thereover, and with said plate both compacting said bodyof concrete and smoothing the upper surface thereof as said machine ismoved forwardly and rearwardly thereover.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said rollers are formed atleast in part by a sheet material having a plurality of spaced openingsformed therein.

3. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said rollers are formed atleast in part by reticulated material.

4. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means includes:

(f) an internal combustion engine;

(g) first means for rigidly connecting said engine to said plate; and

(h) an eccentrically loaded rotatable member driven by said engine forimparting vibrations to said plate when said engine is operating.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said eccentrically loadedrotatable member is directly connected to the drive shaft of said engineand transmits said vibrations to said plate through said engine andfirst means as said member is rotated.

6. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means includes:

(f) an internal combustion engine mounted on said plate and is situatedthereabove, which engine ineludes a driving pulley; 5 (g) aneccentrieally loaded driven pulley; (h) an endless belt connecting saiddriving and driven pulleys; and (i) rigid means for rotatably supportingsaid driven pulley in a fixed position relative to said plate, with 10said driven pulley when rotated vibrating said plate. 7. A machine asdefined in claim 6 wherein said rigid means includes:

(j) two transversely aligned arms projecting upwardly from said sidepieces; (k) a rigid cross bar rigidly secured to said arms; (1) twolaterally spaced brackets secured to said cross bar; and (m) a.transverse shaft supported by said brackets and extending therebetween,which shaft rotatably sup- 30 ports said eccentrically loaded pulley. 8.A machine as defined in claim 1 which further in cludes:

(f) forwardly and rearwardly positioned guards that project upwardlyfrom the forward and rear edges of said plate and project at leastpartially over said rollers to prevent particles of said concrete frombeing deposited on the upper surface of said plate by said rollers assaid device is moved on said upper surface.

9. A machine as defined in claim 1 which further includes:

(i) stop means for limiting the pivotal movement of said plate relativeto said side pieces to said first and second positions.

10. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means vibratessaid plate, side pieces and said rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,560,734 11/1925 Rook .94-482,025,703 12/1935 Baily 94-48 2,039,078 4/1936 Hertwig 94-48 2,094,91010/1937 Baily 94-48 3,048,089 8/1962 Kaltenegger 94-48 XR 3,342,1189/1967 Beierlein 94-48 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner

